F3SC vs ?

Morning chaps...
I have been looking at the Asus F3SC and thinking it was quite good value for money (£750 is best I've found so far) however.. from what I've been reading in the various threads, with my budget (max £850) I would probably be better buying one of last years models with a a Gf 7600 or 7700 etc graphics card in for overall performance.

It's main purpose would be photoshop/illustrator/indesign but I would also like to be able to do some gaming on it. 15" screen with a sensible res would be nice but I would consider a 14" if it mean I could get a better spec. I had looked at the Zepto Znote 6324W with a slightly tweaked spec which came in at £855 see below

14" WXGA display, Crystal Clear
1.80 GHz Intel® Core™2 Duo T7100 800MHz
120GB SATA 2,5" 5400RPM - SAMSUNG
SAMSUNG DVD-RW DL
Keyboard Znote 6x14W White UK
6 Cell Battery
NVIDIA® Geforce 8600M GT
2048MB (2x1024) DDR2 667/PC5300 SODIMM
Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN
Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium - UK

Anyone got any thoughts?

 

The F3sc only has a 8400M GS (I think it is a GS but might even be a G) and a low res screen of 1280x800.

The 6324W has a 8600M GT and a higher resolution screen of 1440x900. The 8600M GT will be alot faster for gameing and the higher resolution better for your applications.

However Zepto is having some problems and it might take a few weeks for delivery.

Might want to look at the Samsung R70 if you want more power then the F3SC and dont want to wait for the Zepto.

 

The zepto also gets pretty poor battery life.

 

hmm I had looked at the R70, best price I can get one of those for is £679 I guess I could spend a bit on top to boost the ram from 1gb to 2 or 4.. it looks like I'll have another look at the R70. I don't mind the wait for a Zepto if it's the right machine.

My only reasoning behind looking at the Asus was I have built desktop machines for a long time now and have never had any problems with Asus components so I was hoping the same could be said about their laptops. I don't have any experience with Samsung products or devices.

*edit* I just noticed I'd be going with some Samsung gear anyway if I went with a Zepto lol

 

The F3 is actually Asus's budget line, Its build quality is good but not great.

 

I think I may end up with the Zepto after all.

I spoke to Samsung UK on the phone and there is an R70 with a Geforce 8600M GT which sounds great but they weren't able to tell me what the model number is for that variant. The UK site doesn't even have any specs for the R70 yet! If I could find the R70 + 8600M GT in the UK somewhere and confirm a price I would be a happy bunny.. til then it's the Zepto..